Hello everyone!! I am new here, so please try to bear with me while I try to find my way around things here. But, as my first act as a contributor here, I would like to try and add something to this site.

In case anyone is confused by the title of the thread, it is the name of a CD from the singer/songwriter Serj Tankian (lead vocal singer for System of a Down). Recently, he struck out on his own to create a solo album (though not at the expense of System of a Down's existence, much to my delight) and "Elect the Dead" was born. The CD is a very politically motivated, as is evident from the title of the second song on the disk - "The Unthinking Majority" - and is, clearly, motivated against the current state of things in the US and in the world through out. This thread about this CD has been created to serve a dual purpose.

1) To act as a sort of review of the CD itself (which is excellent, save two songs that I don't care for)
2) To hopefully open up discussion of the lyrics of the music as I feel that they could provoke some rather interesting discussion as Serj has always had a knack for writing a song a certain way so that it can be interpreted however with no right or wrong "answer" as to it's true meaning.

As for my personal feelings on the CD, the first time I opened it up and popped it in, I instantly fell in love with the first two tracks - "Empty Walls" and "The Unthinking Majority" - the only down side was having to "warm up", so to speak, to the rest of the songs (which didn't take too terribly long as each song has a beat and lyrics unique to itself that easily stick in your mind). One thing that I did notice about the music on this CD, though, that clearly separates it from any prior work Serj had done with System of a Down was the incorporation of a piano through out the entirety of the disk's musical compilations. The piano, though in stark contrast to the drums, bass and electric guitars through out, is blended seamlessly (save the last song "Elect the Dead", which is almost entirely performed on the piano), and with great effect, to create a great contrast between the emotions apparent in the music. This contrast/blend is made very apparent in the song "Sky is Over" where the track is introduced with a semi-somber melodic piano piece, accompanied by Serj's vocals saying -

"Everybody knows
Everybody knows
That you cradle the sun, sun
Living in remorse,
Sky is over,"

Before gently crescendoing into a faster paced beat played out with the drums and guitars. Later, the piano returns to accompany the guitars in a chorus while Serj sings -

"Not even from the sun,
Not even from the sun
Not even from the sun,
Don't you want me to run,"

Later songs, such as "Honking Antelope", share a similar pattern (though not so many that it becomes apparent or repetitive). Down sides to this CD are few and far between, save two songs that I'm not particularly fond of. But the biggest one just might be that when you start listening to it, it seems to be over almost as soon as you started it. LOL!!

All in all, it is a fantastic CD and well worth a buy. As I said earlier, I hope this thread might become a discussion thread for this CD. So, if anyone is interested, let me know and I will post the lyrics in full for us to mull over and discuss.